'Ghost' pots capture up to 37 percent of Womens Bay crab says studyAt the bottom of Womens Bay lie an undetermined number of derelict crab pots that are catching and killing king crab. According to a study published in 2014, anywhere from 16 to 37 percent of the red king crab with shells over 40 millimeters in Womens Bay are killed by ghost fishing pots. Biologists Peter Cummiskey and Eric Munk and analyst Chris Long with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration studie...

Public Safety Blotter: Feb. 23Jan. 20 At 3:56 a.m., a caller reported a dangerous driver on Selief Lane. Police were unable to locate the described vehicle. At 8:24 a.m., police warned a driver on West Marine Way about a broken taillight. At 8:37 a.m., police warned a speeding driver on Rezanof Drive East. At 8:46 a.m., a caller requested a subject removal on Thorsheim Street. A man was permanently banned. At 9:21 a.m., police cited a driver o...

State of the SalmonWe are one third of the way through session and tackling some of the larger issues the legislature is facing this year like the operating budget and resource allocation. Fisheries The House Fisheries Committee heard and passed two bills. House Bill 41, “Sport Fishing Services,” raises the cost of sport fish guide licenses to cover the costs of administering and overseeing the sport fish program. This bill was wide...

Natural gas projects in the worksI am very excited about Alaska’s prospects for finally getting our natural gas to Alaskans and the world market. We currently have two natural gas pipeline projects in the works – the Alaska Stand Alone Pipeline (ASAP) and the large-volume Alaska LNG project (AK LNG). Only one of these projects will ultimately be built. The ASAP project is 100 percent owned by Alaska and was designed as a small-volume gasline to d...

Garden Gate: Hybrids expand carrots’ shape, color optionsCan you imagine digging up a carrot from your garden and finding out that it weighs 19 pounds? That’s what John Evans of Palmer, Alaska, discovered in 1998. His carrot was verified by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s heaviest carrot, weighing in at 18.985 pounds. John’s record held up until last September when Peter Glazebrook of Newark, U.K., grew one that weighed precisely 20 pounds. Going for a world...

Could Alaska workplaces go smoke free?A bill to make public places and workspaces in Alaska smoke-free is undergoing the state legislative process, and it got a vote of support from the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly at their last meeting. Senate Bill 1, “An act prohibiting smoking in certain place,” was originally sponsored by Kenai Peninsula Sen. Peter Micciche, but Kodiak area Sen. Gary Stevens has since signed on as a sponsor along with four other...

Fish Factor: Indicators point to low salmon pricesLast year was one of the busiest years ever for Alaska brokers who help fishermen buy, sell and trade fishing permits and quota shares. “I was really happy to see such a good mix of permits we were selling – it wasn’t just one thing,” said Olivia Olsen of Alaskan Quota and Permits in Petersburg. “We had a lot of Dungeness crab permits, charter halibut permits, salmon and shrimp permits, sea cucumbers, and then wha...

Forming a socialistic fuel company is a solution to high gas pricesLetter to the Editor: I enjoyed reading Mr. Dochtermann’s recent Letter-to-the-Editor critiquing the high price of Petro Star, Inc. gasoline here on Kodiak. Whereas I agree with his facts and share his frustrations, I really do not fault the Petro Star Corporation for its high gasoline prices. For our community has and has had every opportunity to provide itself with lower cost fuel and has shown that it is just n...

Thomet second at Simplot GamesKodiak’s Levi Thomet recorded one of the fastest indoor 3,200-meter times this season on Saturday in Pocatello, Idaho. The senior finished second at the 37th Simplot Games with a blazing time of 9 minutes, 02.18 seconds — the third fastest turned this season by a high school runner, according to Milesplit.com. Winner Elijah Armstrong of Pocatello High School won the race, and posted the second-fastest time in the ...

Kodiak hoops split in JuneauKodiak’s girls basketball team concluded its weekend swing through the capital city with a split against Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain. On Friday, Kodiak jumped out to an early lead and fended off Juneau, 50-42. On Saturday, the Bears played a strong first half, but couldn’t keep it up, falling 55-31 to Thunder Mountain for the second time in three days. The Bears went 1-2 on their trip to Juneau and head in...